http://www.wickedlocal.com/watertow...w-seven-story-buildings-prohibit-chain-stores
Rules for Watertown?s Pleasant Street allow seven-story buildings, prohibit chain stores
By Jillian Fennimore, Staff Writer
WATERTOWN -
Developers, start your engines: New rules for remaking Pleasant Street has been finalized.
For the former industrial district, this could mean buildings up to seven stories tall, more mixed use, no chain stores or restaurants, and incentives to maintain open space.
On Tuesday night, Town Councilors voted to create the newly named ?Pleasant Street Corridor District.?
The new rules are final after close to a year of hard work, public hearings, and talks with stakeholders and neighbors.
District C Councilor Vincent Piccirilli said Pleasant Street is geared toward becoming an ?appropriately controlled? and popular section of town.
?This should not be a bedroom community lined with Repton Places,? he said. ?We need to build a multi-use neighborhood, and to do that you need density.?
Read the new rules in detail
At-Large Councilor Marilyn Devaney was the lone dissenting vote against the zoning changes. One concern in particular was the provision to reduce parking requirements. According to the new zoning, parking reductions can be granted by special permit in exchange for ?alternative transportation incentives,? such as more sheltered bike parking, showers for bicyclists and on-site car sharing services.
?We want to encourage people to ride their bikes, but this isn?t the way to do it,? she said, adding that the corridor should be more choc full of commercial space.
Council President Clyde Younger abstained from the vote, saying that he still had ?hesitation? about the amendments.
?I do support moving ahead,? he said. ?But there are questions that I am unclear about.?
For all future builds, the Planning Board will have the authority to grant developers special permits and site plan reviews, where projects are analyzed on whether or not they negatively affect the community.
Objectives of the Pleasant Street plan
? Define the character of the corridor
? Facilitate a mix of uses including residential, office, research and development, hotel, retail, etc.
? Improve the quality of life
? Develop at an appropriate scale and size
? Increase real estate investment and maximize development to enhance the town?s tax base? Promote accessibility to and within the district by improving existing and creating new roadways, mass transit, pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths? Calm Pleasant Street traffic and manager traffic impacts
? Improve access to the Charles River
? Encourage Smart Growth and Low Impact Development to develop in an environmentally sustainable manner, manage stormwater and protect the riparian habitat
Height requirements allow buildings up to seven stories, though buildings without stepbacks ? or receding upper levels away from the build-to line ? would be a minimum of 24 feet and a maximum of 54 feet. Height may be increased up to six stories (66 feet) with 10-foot stepbacks or seven stories (79 feet) with 15-foot stepbacks.
Developers may be able to max out their buildings by earning incentive credits which include enhancing useable open space, connections to the Charles River bike path, structured or underground parking, and alternative transportation incentives.
At-Large Councilor and local developer Stephen Corbett said although he voted for the amendments, the rules should be ?more flexible? for developers to be creative.
?The document compromised a lot of different viewpoints and revisions,? he said. ?You have to test on how it plays out in the real world.?
A maximum footprint for new developments ? single tenant, retail, or restaurant ? is 12,000 square feet, or up to 40,000 square feet with a special permit. All new development should have at least 20 percent of the site devoted to open space.
For mixed-use developments, the maximum floor area ratio has been set at 75 percent (that?s a floor area ratio of 2.0) of the ground floor used for retail/commercial use.
New building proposals should also follow a set of guidelines ? be built to match the complementary scale and character of the corridor, with maintained streetscapes and sidewalk d?cor, and by avoiding chain stores and restaurants.
Environmental sustainability guidelines include retaining storm water runoff, planting additional trees, using environmentally friendly building materials and renewable energy sources, and comply with current Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria.
?We want to encourage a specific kind of development, instead of one-story warehouses and asphalt parking,? said Piccirilli.
A vision for Pleasant Street began to bloom back in 2007, and thanks to a comprehensive study and neighborhood workshops, amendments were moved forward and put through numerous meetings and public hearings.
The pothole-riddled Pleasant Street is also getting the repair work it deserves. Department of Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee said that MassHighway announced a July 12 date for construction bids. Work would begin this fall.
Rules for Watertown?s Pleasant Street allow seven-story buildings, prohibit chain stores
By Jillian Fennimore, Staff Writer
WATERTOWN -
Developers, start your engines: New rules for remaking Pleasant Street has been finalized.
For the former industrial district, this could mean buildings up to seven stories tall, more mixed use, no chain stores or restaurants, and incentives to maintain open space.
On Tuesday night, Town Councilors voted to create the newly named ?Pleasant Street Corridor District.?
The new rules are final after close to a year of hard work, public hearings, and talks with stakeholders and neighbors.
District C Councilor Vincent Piccirilli said Pleasant Street is geared toward becoming an ?appropriately controlled? and popular section of town.
?This should not be a bedroom community lined with Repton Places,? he said. ?We need to build a multi-use neighborhood, and to do that you need density.?
Read the new rules in detail
At-Large Councilor Marilyn Devaney was the lone dissenting vote against the zoning changes. One concern in particular was the provision to reduce parking requirements. According to the new zoning, parking reductions can be granted by special permit in exchange for ?alternative transportation incentives,? such as more sheltered bike parking, showers for bicyclists and on-site car sharing services.
?We want to encourage people to ride their bikes, but this isn?t the way to do it,? she said, adding that the corridor should be more choc full of commercial space.
Council President Clyde Younger abstained from the vote, saying that he still had ?hesitation? about the amendments.
?I do support moving ahead,? he said. ?But there are questions that I am unclear about.?
For all future builds, the Planning Board will have the authority to grant developers special permits and site plan reviews, where projects are analyzed on whether or not they negatively affect the community.
Objectives of the Pleasant Street plan
? Define the character of the corridor
? Facilitate a mix of uses including residential, office, research and development, hotel, retail, etc.
? Improve the quality of life
? Develop at an appropriate scale and size
? Increase real estate investment and maximize development to enhance the town?s tax base? Promote accessibility to and within the district by improving existing and creating new roadways, mass transit, pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths? Calm Pleasant Street traffic and manager traffic impacts
? Improve access to the Charles River
? Encourage Smart Growth and Low Impact Development to develop in an environmentally sustainable manner, manage stormwater and protect the riparian habitat
Height requirements allow buildings up to seven stories, though buildings without stepbacks ? or receding upper levels away from the build-to line ? would be a minimum of 24 feet and a maximum of 54 feet. Height may be increased up to six stories (66 feet) with 10-foot stepbacks or seven stories (79 feet) with 15-foot stepbacks.
Developers may be able to max out their buildings by earning incentive credits which include enhancing useable open space, connections to the Charles River bike path, structured or underground parking, and alternative transportation incentives.
At-Large Councilor and local developer Stephen Corbett said although he voted for the amendments, the rules should be ?more flexible? for developers to be creative.
?The document compromised a lot of different viewpoints and revisions,? he said. ?You have to test on how it plays out in the real world.?
A maximum footprint for new developments ? single tenant, retail, or restaurant ? is 12,000 square feet, or up to 40,000 square feet with a special permit. All new development should have at least 20 percent of the site devoted to open space.
For mixed-use developments, the maximum floor area ratio has been set at 75 percent (that?s a floor area ratio of 2.0) of the ground floor used for retail/commercial use.
New building proposals should also follow a set of guidelines ? be built to match the complementary scale and character of the corridor, with maintained streetscapes and sidewalk d?cor, and by avoiding chain stores and restaurants.
Environmental sustainability guidelines include retaining storm water runoff, planting additional trees, using environmentally friendly building materials and renewable energy sources, and comply with current Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria.
?We want to encourage a specific kind of development, instead of one-story warehouses and asphalt parking,? said Piccirilli.
A vision for Pleasant Street began to bloom back in 2007, and thanks to a comprehensive study and neighborhood workshops, amendments were moved forward and put through numerous meetings and public hearings.
The pothole-riddled Pleasant Street is also getting the repair work it deserves. Department of Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee said that MassHighway announced a July 12 date for construction bids. Work would begin this fall.
